Swept x Away
by 1angel2heart
Summary: What starts off as a case of genuine, innocent curiosity, soon spirals into something more when Gon becomes infatuated with the mysterious, bizarre merchant that has been visiting Whale Island lately. Rated K now but that will soon change. FULL summary inside. Yaoi.
1. Chapter 1: Peek

**A/N:** Sadly, Inktober has come to an end and what better way to send it off than with a ficlet from another word prompt that you guys suggested on Tumblr? This is yet another little drabble based off of Ringochuu's (Tumblr) art and the word of the day is 'Peek'. This isn't very long because I'm behind on my homework for school and I couldn't spend much time on finishing up the rest of it so the other part will show up as a new chapter. Sorry! Hopefully I can add that chapter soon!

 **Full Story Summary:** In this AU,Whale Island is not only famous for its marine resources but as a destination that attracts merchants from all over the region for the many trading opportunities that it offers. Gon lives on this remote island with his aunt Mito, who is the only parent he's ever known since his dad, Ging, who travels extensively, left him with her soon after he was born. With this much responsibility, Mito takes caring for him seriously and as a result is very strict with his lessons. Gon, on the other hand is easily distracted and has recently become enamored with a strange merchant that has been visiting their island as of late. What happens next is the story of how Gon met a mysterious man by the name of Hisoka...

 **Chapter** **References** : Hunter x Hunter 2011 anime episode 90. Math isn't Gon's best subject...

* * *

 **NB**.:  Time \- 3pm Location \- Whale Island...

"He's here again," Gon whispered, his trembling voice betraying his excitement. Neither wanting to face his feelings nor give more meaning to his actions than he was willing to admit to, had him convincing himself that he was crouching by the window of the Stockhouse, like he did every week, watching the strange merchant only because he was intrigued.

"He's quite handsome...I think."

Gon squinted, trying to angle his body so that he could get a better look at his face without revealing his location.

"This is useless..."

Huffing when his new position didn't allow him to see much more than the side of the man's face, he settled for letting his gaze travel down to the redhead's fancy clothes; from his colourful, intricately embroidered waistcoat to his slim-fitting pants and tall, garish boots. The redhead looked more like the prince of an opulent small island than a trader. Many merchants were wealthy due to the rich trading opportunities provided by the region, but something about this man felt different and oddly magnetic. "Is he really a merchant?" Gon pondered absently with a sneaky little smile. What he was doing made him feel as if he was on some kind of secret mission that was both exciting and mysterious, but he could not shake the feeling that what he was doing was also wrong.

 _Mito-san, I'm sorry._

A weighted sigh left his lips.

Despite having made up his mind to do this, to be sneaking around like he was and not doing his math lessons like his aunt Mito had instructed him to, was causing a bit of guilt to seep into his consciousness.

He did not want to disappoint his aunt, or cause her any trouble and make her sad, but he was beginning to realize that after three months of sneaking around to observe the same merchant every time he came to trade, that his behavior was becoming...

"Addictive..." Gon whispered into the cool afternoon breeze that floated into the room to carry the scent of the ocean and the cries of the nearby seagulls to him. "I'm addicted to everything about him."

His cheeks flushed at that admission.

 _Ah._

It was the first time that he had admitted this to himself and with the merchant standing not too far away, it felt as if he had just awkwardly confessed his feelings to the man.

"What am I saying?!" Gon grumbled under his breath when a bit of awareness seeped into his overheated brain. "I don't even know him!"

 _But I_ ** _can_** _get to know him..._

"..."

Groaning, Gon shook his head to eliminate the sound of his heart pounding in his ears, reminding himself for the umpteenth time that what he was doing was not bad at all because he had decided long ago that spying on the man was a useful venture and not something he was doing for himself.

"If I happen to like looking at him, that's just a side effect...it's not why I'm here."

"Right...?"

"Yeah...I'm not curious about him."

Gon shifted a bit as the merchant looked briefly in his general direction to speak with one of the workers standing idly by near the window. "This isn't about him...I'm here again only 'cause I need to make sure that the workers are doing their job properly...y-yeah that's it..."

His heart remained troubled though because he hated that he had to lie to his aunt in order to get away from his lessons. It could not be helped though, he had been on the verge of pulling his hair out from having to sit still and do a plethora of math questions when suddenly one of their workers had come in to tell his aunt that the fruit merchant had arrived. At that news, his mood had immediately brightened up and as soon as the worker left, he had made up a quick excuse about having a tummy ache and needing to use the bathroom.

That was two hours ago.

 _Aunt Mito is probably looking for me right now,_ he thought without a hint of worry in his voice as his eyes squinted, trying to get a better look as the man he was carefully watching shifted, turning his head to speak to one of the workmen who was unloading the cargo from a nearby pirogue. It was clear that he was too focused on the man to worry about getting disciplined by his aunt. _If she finds me, I'll just explain to her that I needed to do this to—_

At that moment, as if sensing his ardent appraisal, the redheaded merchant looked over at the low window sharply and their eyes met briefly before Gon slipped quickly away from his hiding place and to the side. There, against the solid, yet worn Birchwood panels, he pressed his back, breathing heavily as if he had just been caught in the act of taking something that did not belong to him.

He listened attentively for any sound that would indicate that the man was coming his way, but instead of the sound of footsteps, all he heard above the pounding of his heart was the crying seagulls and the foamy water lapping at the docks as the workers bustled about noisily.

 _Damn..._

Sliding down the wall to sit on the dusty floor, Gon gave no thought to the fact that he was ruining his good pair of shorts or that he'd get an earful from his aunt for doing so. Instead, he lowered his face into his hands and groaned. "I can't believe that I let him catch me looking at him..."

 _Three months I've been coming here to look at him and I let him catch me this time..._

 _Urgh._

 _But maybe...he did_ ** _not_** _see me...maybe he was looking at something_ ** _behind_** _me..._ A little voice in his head whispered and with that hopeful thought, Gon got on his knees and crouched low, making sure to remain underneath the window, before slowly raising his head so that he could peek out again over the docks.

As soon as he looked out over the ledge though, his eyes met a decidedly curious golden stare and his heart skipped a beat. In that instant, Gon felt as if he could not look away, as if he was a prisoner held captive by those hypnotic eyes and his heart thumped with anticipation, overwhelmed by the uncertainty of what was about to take place.

What would the man do? Would he leave the workers behind and come to that Stockhouse to confront him? Or, would he turn away as if they weren't currently staring at each other?

Gon bit into his bottom lip, realizing that he actually wanted the man to come to him.

He wanted the merchant to speak to him, he wanted to be wrapped up in that man's bountiful intensity and to receive the attention he had been giving away to the workers prior to becoming aware of his presence.

He wanted to experience all of him.

 _This is weird..._

 _Ah... I should do something before he leaves, I should—_

Before either of them could make a move though, one of the workers came up to the redhead and whispered something, to which the man finally broke their eye contact to address.

After speaking with the worker, the merchant looked back to the window to give Gon a sexy smirk before heading back to his pirogue to leave.

 _He's leaving?!_

"Wait...!" Gon started, but stopped when he noticed that most of the workers were still bustling about, stacking cargo and writing up notices. He realized then that if he were to call out to the merchant, he'd have nothing to say to him and no reason to explain why he was trying to talk to him.

 _It would be awkward._

"…"

 _Maybe next time..._ Gon finally acquiesced, his fingers biting into the solid wood of the window sill as he remained in that spot for a while, crouching on the floor, long after the redhead had left and the workers had dissipated, carrying the bartered cargo up from the dock.

The Stockhouse that he was in held only non-perishable items so no one came in to disturb him as they went off to store the goods and as a result, Gon ended up sitting there for a long time, his eyes glued in the direction where the man's pirogue had disappeared. Eventually, as the evening drew closer, the passage of time was marked by a retiring sun that slowly started to slip beneath the horizon and a sky that was bathed in a rustic glow as the sea shone like a million diamonds.

And Gon, instead of feeling concerned that it was getting late, only exhaled dreamily, muttering absently, "He...looked at me. He's even more handsome than I expected him to be..."

Gon knew that he should be hurrying back to finish his lessons, but he could not move and was unsure if this was because he was more frozen by the fact that he had finally seen the merchant's face or if he was simply still consumed by his lingering excitement.

Maybe it was both.

Either way, since he could not (or did not want to) move, he settled for looking out at the sparkling water that had carried the strange merchant back to where he had come from. A body of water that he had never crossed before, that was an indomitable foe that he hoped to one day conquer.

"The ocean," Gon mumbled as he gripped the window ledge harder. "I wonder what the other side of that horizon looks like..."

Most likely, the merchant either lived on the main continent that he had read so much about or one of the nearby islands, but there was no way to tell for sure unless he asked some of the adults who had actually left Whale Island.

 _Maybe Aunt Mito knows where he's from since we buy his goods._

 _Maybe she's even been there!_

He paused.

 _No. I can't ask her...I can't ask_ ** _anyone_** _without making them suspicious about why I'm asking._

 _But I want to...no I need to know more about him._

 _That place, where he comes from...maybe it's a nice place?_

 _Is it like Whale Island, or is it more like one of those cities Mito-san has told me stories about?_

 _I wonder if I could visit?_

Gon blushed hard as he thought of being shown around the place where the merchant lived, meeting his friends and spending time with him.

 _Does he have relatives?_

 _Maybe I can meet them too..._

 _But what if he's married?_

Gon's lips turned downward.

 _I hope he isn't married and—_

His blush intensified. _What am I thinking?! I don't even know his name or where he's from! We've never even spoken and I want to meet his family?!_

 _And...why is it so important whether he's married or not?!_

 _Why do I care?!_

 _I..._

 _No..._

His hands left the rough windowsill to press themselves into his cheeks.

 _My face is so hot..._

 _Why have I been thinking about him so much?!_

 _Why do I want to know more about him?_

 _Why do I miss him whenever he leaves?_

 _Why do I want to_ ** _see_** _more of him?! To talk to him, to know what his voice is like?_

 _But...maybe this feeling—_ he brought one hand to his chest— _maybe that man wants the same of me?_

In the midst of his feverish thoughts, the memory of the sexy smirk that had been directed at him when he was caught peeking suddenly invaded his mind and Gon's heart started beating faster as if the redhead's touch had been imprinted on it.

 _He...smiled at me..._

 _So maybe he really_ ** _does_** _want to get to know me too?_

 _But he doesn't know who I am...so maybe he was just being friendly but... I couldn't have been imagining things..._

 _He was definitely interested!_

Caught up in his thoughts and thoroughly red faced as a result, Gon was startled when the door to the stockroom suddenly flew open.

Gasping in surprise, he scrambled up from the floor and turned around to face the newcomer. "Um... I—"

"What are you doing here, young master?" The worker, dressed in worn slacks and a T-shirt soiled from carrying heavy cargo, asked when he observed Gon in the corner near the window. "Your aunt has been looking—"

"Gon Freecs!" A woman's voice bellowed, cutting into the workman's sentence as she stepped into the room. Her orange hair caught the fading sunlight pouring in through the door and glinted like brass as she shook her head. "You're in **_big_** trouble young man!"

* * *

 **AN:** _03/11/16_ I vote for Gon to get a beating. If I was Aunt Mito, I'd have walked with my willow switch -.- Books before boys Gon. Books before boys...

Thank you so much for reading! I will have the next little chapter up very soon, which is another word prompt from Ringochuu. I just have to get a head start on my school assignments first so that my brain doesn't self-destruct from the anxiety caused by rapidly approaching deadlines and also so that I don't get a beating with my own willow switch for putting boys (yaoi) before books ^^;

Anyway, enough of my silliness... I hope you guys had a Happy Halloween!

Take care :*


	2. Chapter 2: Switch

****AN:****

Hello! Thank you for joining me for this new installment of the Inktober Challenge! Today's word is 'Switch'! This is my first time writing Mito and from what I was told, it was Ringochuu's first time drawing her! What a coincidence! I hope you guys like this new challenge that has been added to our collaboration.

 **N.** **B** FFNET doesn't allow me to insert images, so I changed the story cover image (the first chapter's) to reflect this chapter's theme. If you'd like to see the story with the related image for each chapter, you can check it out on Ao3 as well after reading this!

Also, thank you everyone for your comments on this new story and a big hug to my new and old fans; I love all of you... you guys are the best for keeping up with me posting in-between my homework assignments. I cannot say enough how much your comments motivate me whenever I'm feeling down. You're the best.

 ** **Chapter Dictionary:****

Willow switch: A willow is a type of tree with long thin branches and a "... _ _switch__ is a flexible rod which is typically used for corporal punishment." (Wikipedia,2016)

 ** **Chapter References:**** Wikipedia(2016). _Switch (corporal punishment)._

* * *

Chapter Two:Inktober Challenge: Switch

Caught up in his thoughts and thoroughly red faced as a result, Gon was startled when the door to the stockroom suddenly flew open.

Gasping in surprise, he scrambled up from the floor and turned around to face the newcomer. "Um... I—"

"What are you doing here, young master?" The worker, dressed in worn slacks and a T-shirt soiled from carrying heavy cargo, asked when he observed Gon in the corner near the window. "Your aunt has been looking—"

"Gon Freecs!" A woman's voice bellowed, cutting into the workman's sentence as she stepped into the room. Her orange hair caught the fading sunlight pouring in through the door and glinted like brass as she shook her head. "You're in **_big_** trouble young man!"

* * *

Gon remained where he was, knowing better than to respond when his aunt was in this particular mood. All he did was look on silently as she wagged her finger at him.

 _ _Oh no...__

 _She's really angry._

 _I' m sorry Aunt Mito...I couldn't control myself._

Slowly, he lifted his eyes to her face and as their eyes met, Mito saw the guilt in those hazel depths before Gon quickly averted them. This told her exactly what she needed to know; Gon had done what he did despite knowing that it was wrong...despite knowing how much it would upset her.

"Gon," she started, trying to remain calm. "Have you any idea how long I have been looking for you?"

Looking back to where Mito stood, Gon was not fooled by that sweet, relaxed tone and strained smile.

"…"

"Answer me," Mito said as her smile crumbled into a frown. "You better have a good excuse, because you surely weren't in the restroom like you said you'd be."

"I..." Gon swallowed, the lump in his throat almost choking him as her disapproving glare intensified. "I-I was watching the workers um..."

He thought hard.

 _Tell her you were watching the sexy merchant._

"No!"

 _I can't tell her that!_

 _Come on brain...think!_

"What did you say, Gon?"

 _Oh..._

"I...I was watching them..."

"Who?"

"The uh workers..."—Gon pointed outside the window to where there were clearly no more of their workmen left on the docks—"um deal with the morning trades and stuff so I could see—"

"You're interested in that sort of stuff Gon?" The worker, the one who had come in with his aunt and who was still standing by the door, asked. "You should have said something earlier while the merchant was still around instead of hiding out in here..." He stretched out his hands to gesture around the small room. "Next time you could probably come down to the docks and help out—"

"I'm not so sure," Mito said, frowning slightly. "After all, he still has his lessons to do. Gon is pretty weak in math overall and I need to teach him to solve..."

"What better training is there than real life experience?" The man said, now walking fully into the room and toward Gon. "Right, little man?"

"I..." Gon had not expected that his lie would have worked this well. "I guess so...but would it be okay if I tag along next time? I don't know anything about trade other than what I saw in Ging's old books that Aunt Mito had me read..."

"Of course!" He slapped Gon on his back in an attempt to reassure him and as Gon coughed, he added, "Your dad was the one who handled the trading and business accounts before he went off to the ancient ruins in the New Continent and he was even younger than you are now so you'll be a natural! It's in your blood!"

"Really, Yori-san?!" Gon exclaimed. "Dad was younger than I am when he did this?"

"Didn't Mito tell you?"

"No..."

Yori grinned, the withering glare Mito was directing his way completely lost on him. "Well let me tell you, he was the best around here! It may seem like a lot but all you need is to see it at work! I have no doubt that you'll definitely be a natural at this!"

"Hey don't encourage him. Nothing has been decided yet." Mito frowned some more, not liking that this possible new venture was going to be taking Gon away from his lessons. "You're going to make him think that it's okay to be skipping out on his classes."

"With all due respect Ma'am, he won't be 'skipping out'. I'll take responsibility for him," Yori explained. "I'm sure this is what Ging would have wanted."

"…" Mito's frown deepened. Why was it that whenever anyone wanted to get her to agree to something, they'd insist that it was 'Ging's legacy', or 'what Ging would have wanted'?

 _ _For heaven's sake, Ging hasn't been on Whale Island in sixteen years!__

 _ _What if Gon learns more about trade and falls in love with traveling...with the ocean...and with something unknown, unattainable and tempting?__

The cool breeze, chilled by the ocean, rushed in through the open window to brush the trimmed ends of her orange hair and as she shivered, another thought occurred to her.

 _ _What if he leaves Whale Island just like Ging did twenty years ago?__

 _ _I can't let that happen.__

 _ _I could not stop Ging then, but I can stop Gon now.__

Feeling her ire mounting like bitter bile in her throat, her eyes flashed to Gon and seeing the young man who was the splitting image of his absentee father made her anger suddenly dissipate. His perpetually curious expression and the fire in his hazel eyes that never seemed to die touched something deep inside of her. __This isn't his fault. I need to keep my personal feelings out of this.__

"Probably," she finally agreed without taking her eyes off of Gon. "Ging never really did like to stay indoors when he was a kid...so maybe Gon is just like—"

"Exactly! The boy not only **__**looks**__** like his dad, he **__**acts**__** like him too!" Yori interrupted enthusiastically with a hearty laugh, patting Gon on his back briefly before looking back at Mito to counter her concerned expression with a reassuring smile. "Isn't it fantastic how Gon has been showing an interest in learning about his father's work?"

 _Not_ _really._

"Hmmm..." Mito hummed despondently, fiddling with the slim stick in her hands as if its rough texture provided some sort of comfort. _I hope that he isn't going to start showing interest in leaving the island too...  
_

"Ah..." Drawn by the movement of her hands, Gon looked down at the stick his aunt was holding, immediately recognizing it for what it was – the willow switch that she used to discipline him whenever he was out of line. He looked away quickly.

"Alright then," Mito said with a heavy sigh, dropping her hands and tapping the switch lightly against her thigh as she pondered to herself on the wisdom of the decision she was about to make. "But before I allow him to do anything he must first agree to put in extra work with his lessons to make up for the mornings he'll be spending on the docks," she added firmly.

"Sure Ma'am, and I can guarantee that you won't regret your decision," Yori piped up in his usual enthusiastic tone. "I'll teach him everything that I know, everything that Ging taught me."

"Hm." Mito turned to Gon. "Now..."

"Um..." Feeling the intensity of that fiery hazel death glare, Gon's smile faltered a bit as his aunt marched further into the room to stand directly in front of him. "Yes Aunt Mito?" he ventured in a hoarse whisper.

 _Ah._

Standing this close to him, his aunt was not much taller than he was, but whenever she got really angry, she always seemed inches taller than her average height and he always felt more self-conscious. And right at that moment, it also didn't help that she was still holding the switch.

"Gon."

Placing both hands on her hips, Mito looked down at him with a stern glare and making the mistake of looking into her eyes, Gon started to sweat profusely.

"You..." she continued and he tried his best to keep his eyes from looking down at the switch in her hand.

"You **_do_ ** understand that you'd have to work hard right?"

"Yes," Gon replied bravely as his face settled into a determined expression. "I'm not afraid of hard work."

"But you're afraid of math," Mito deadpanned, shaking her head. "You better be prepared to work hard both on the docks **_**_and_**_** on those equations you keep avoiding."

"Y-yeah..." A bead of sweat formed on Gon's forehead.

"I will not have you do anything halfheartedly." She gripped the switch harder and Gon visibly swallowed hard. "It's either you do this to the best of your ability or you don't do it at all."

"I'll do it...I'll work hard," Gon assured her quickly. "And I promise I won't run away from my math lessons anymore. I'll do all the equations this time..."

"Even the quadratic ones?" Mito narrowed her eyes. "Don't think you can get away with making me show you the answers or by making excuses to go to the bathroom."

"I really won't run away again...or make excuses," Gon promised, not so sure about what was happening anymore. "I'll do all my math assignments."

 _ _Why am I agreeing to this?__

 _ _I hate math.__

 _But...why do I feel so...excited all of a sudden?  
_

"Alright then." Mito straightened up, keeping both hands on her hips as she turned to look up at the worker who was standing next to Gon. He was a tall, strong man in his early thirties but Mito stared him down as she prepared to release her most precious possession into his care. "Take good care of him, he'll be with you guys three days in the week and one day on the weekends. Don't be afraid to work him hard either..." She looked back to Gon and frowned. " ** _ ** _Very_**_** hard. He needs to learn that the real world is different from the books that he's been reading."

 _Hopefully that'd make him realize that life on Whale Island is better than the world out there...the world his father lusts after._

"That won't be a problem," Yori replied with a chuckle. "He doesn't seem like the type who's afraid to work hard."

"He isn't," Mito agreed. "But he tends to get distracted easily and disappear if you don't keep a close eye on him."

Gon laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head, knowing that his aunt was referring to his disappearance from his lessons earlier that afternoon.

"Anyway—" Mito beckoned to Gon with the switch. "Let's go, we need to get started on Grammar and Composition before dinner."

"Okay Aunt Mito," Gon replied, looking back at the worker and smiling as he followed his aunt out of the building.

That guy definitely saved him.

"Gon," Mito said as she walked in front of him. "We have so much to do."

"Yes."

"If you hadn't run away we could have been done by now and you would have been able to go explore in the woods before dinner."

"Yeah..."

"But now I'm afraid we'll have to go right through till it's time to eat."

"Sure..."

"You do know what that means right?"

"..."

"You're grounded Gon Freecs."

"..."

 _This sucks._

"Are you listening to me?"

"Yes...sorry..."

Gon sighed. He had really been looking forward to seeing Kon that evening.

 _Oh well,_ he thought, figuring that the foxbear would understand when he didn't show up. _It's not like this is the first time I've been grounded._

 _At least Aunt Mito didn't decide to use that switch on me..._

Breathing out in relief, and not wanting his aunt to catch on to what he was thinking, Gon looked back hesitantly to smile at the older man who had remained in the stock building to clean up.

 _Yori-san really helped me out today._

 _I have to thank him properly next time, but for now..._

 _Yori-san, thank you._

At that moment, Yori looked up to meet his eyes and although Gon's words hadn't been expressed aloud, he smiled in response and nodded at him as if understanding the depth of his unspoken gratitude.

Leaving the small building behind as he jogged to catch up to his aunt who had long discarded the willow switch, Gon smiled. Walking in the sun, being outdoors instead of stuck in his study room doing homework made him happy and as they took the winding paved path back to the main house, Gon found one more thing to be happy about: he felt relieved that he had somehow managed to escape that extra punishment. At the same time though, as if to counter this feeling, he felt his anxiety mounting, almost blotting out the relief that flooded his being.

 _ _My lie saved me...but now I'll have to see__ ** _ _ **him**__** _ _face to face...__

 _ _No more hiding.__

 _ _No more running away.__

 _ _He'll see me.__

 _ _I'll have to talk to him.__

 _ _I hope I don't make a fool of myself.__

XXX

* * *

 ** **Afterword:**** Poor Mito has to deal with such a naughty Gon lol. If only she knew that things were only going to get worse...

 ** **AN:**** Thanks for reading! I hope you guys are fine, I'm heading back into the insanity that is schoolwork. Wish me the best...

 **Next Chapter Preview:** Sneak (this will probably be M Rated, not sure by how much yet)


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